1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to slide mechanisms and, particularly, to a slide mechanism for a slide-type terminal device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Slide mechanisms are widely used in slide-type terminal devices, such as slide-type mobile phones and slide-type personal digital assistants. A typical slide-type terminal device generally includes two housings. One housing slides over the other housing, thereby opening or closing the terminal device.
A typical slide mechanism includes a first sheet, a second sheet slidably connected to the first sheet, and a torsion spring positioned between the first and second sheets. The first and the second sheets are respectively fixed on a display unit and a main unit of the typical slide-type terminal device. The torsion spring includes a spring coil made by bending thin metallic wires and provides a torsion force between the first and second sheets, thus making it easier to open or close the terminal device.
However, in use, the torsion force is concentrated at the spring coil of the torsion spring, so that the spring coil is easily damaged or unduly deformed. After repeated use, the torsion force created by the torsion spring decreases, and may be incapable of providing additional force to open or close the terminal device. Therefore, a usage life of the slide mechanism is relatively short.
Therefore, a new slide mechanism and a slide-type terminal device are desired to overcome the above-described shortcomings.